Are you forever checking your destination on your desktop computer then trotting off with your phone, only to realise you don't have the address stored to guide you there? Google's putting an end to that by letting Android Maps on your phone sync your searches with your desktop.

The update means that when you've typed a search query into Google Maps on your PC -- directions to a dog-grooming salon, say -- it will sync this search history to Maps on your Android device. It will then appear as a suggested search as you type, letting you immediately find your goal after you've set off with your hirsute pooch in tow.

In order for this to work, you just need to make sure you're signed in to your Google account on your desktop. This can be in Firefox, Safari or -- heaven forbid -- Internet Explorer, not only in Google's own Chrome browser. Your Android phone should already be synced with this account, so you won't need to do anything else in order to see the results -- the sync will happen automatically.

It's hardly an Earth-shattering update, but it's certainly a handy feature that I personally could have done with numerous times over the years, rather than scrawling an address down on a Post-It note that I inevitably lose.

This new maps feature comes exactly at the time when Apple is taking some serious heat about its new Maps software in iOS 6. In the latest update to its iPhone operating system, Apple removed Google's Maps and replaced it with its own version.

While it looks pretty and has a couple of neat features like viewing buildings in 3D, it seems to be lacking when it comes to local data and address search. We're furiously testing the new software, so keep it CNET UK for the verdict, but it certainly appears for now that Apple has taken a few steps back.

Would you find Google's new sync handy or do you operate just fine without it? Are you an iOS 6 user who's frustrated with the new maps? Find your way down to the comments below or navigate to our Facebook page.

About the author

Andrew is a senior editor at CNET and has always been fascinated by tech. When not getting up close and personal with the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
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